A Top Designer Was Banned From Dribbble. Now He’s Building His Own Competitor.

Dribbble has permanently banned dozens of designers from its level pursuing a caller effort to pivot to a marketplace and pursuit monetization. This includes 1 of nan platform’s astir good known designers, Gleb Kuznetsov, founder of nan San Francisco-based creation studio Milkinside.

Dribbble deleted his relationship pinch its over 210 million followers because he shared his interaction information with prospective clients done nan level successful usurpation of its caller rules.

Remarked Kuznetsov in a station connected X, “I brought 100,000+ monthly users. 15 years of work. 12,000+ shots. All instantly deleted, because a customer asked for my email. One warning. No appeal.”

Fed up pinch nan changes astatine nan company, which helps product, UX, web, and different integer designers showcase their portfolios and find caller clients, Kuznetsov says he’s been talking to investors astir launching a competitor.

Shortly aft his societal media post, Dribbble users expressed their daze and anger complete nan decision, crediting Kuznetsov arsenic 1 of their biggest inspirations and lamenting that nan level would make specified a misguided move.

Dribbble, meanwhile, says Kuznetsov was really warned aggregate times that he was violating nan caller rules and nan email was nan last notice.

Dribbble’s pivot to a marketplace

The rumor has to do pinch a much caller argumentation alteration first announced connected March 17, 2025.

In an email shared successful March pinch Dribbble’s immoderate 750,000 approved designers — meaning those who are authorized to pass pinch others connected nan level — nan institution said it was nary longer allowing designers to stock their interaction accusation pinch prospective clients until aft their customer sent costs done its platform.

The institution positioned this alteration arsenic 1 meant to protect designers from non-payment, arsenic good arsenic 1 that allows Dribbble to proceed to prolong its business.

The announcement was besides posted to societal media and nan company blog.

Image Credits:Dribbble

However, Kuznetsov claims that non-payment isn’t a very communal problem, and really, this update is astir Dribbble attempting to return a larger trim of designers’ business.

Dribbble doesn’t conflict that.

Before nan argumentation change, Dribbble made money successful 1 of 2 ways. Starting successful September 2024, Dribbble began pivoting to a marketplace that connected designers and clients. Designers could pass freely connected nan level and past either stock a 3.5% gross trim connected clients they converted, aliases they could salary for a Pro subscription to skip nan rev share. In March, nan institution tightened nan rules further, saying that anyone uncovering clients connected Dribbble would request to connection nan level a trim of their revenue.

“It went from it was optional to usage our transactional features to it was required for non-advertisers to usage our transactional features, if they were connected Dribbble, to find clients,” explains Dribbble CEO Constantine Anastasakis, successful an question and reply pinch TechCrunch. “If a personification is connected Dribbble to find inspiration aliases to get feedback connected their work, aliases to talk shop pinch their peers, nary of this affects them,” he added.

Image Credits:Dribbble

The exec, who joined nan institution aft moving astatine direct-to-consumer lender Lower, video marketplace Pond5 (exited to Shutterstock), and freelancer marketplace Fiverr, was hired past April to pivot Dribbble into a marketplace. While nan institution is profitable nether genitor institution Tiny, it’s still a mini 20-person squad and isn’t reliant connected task backing to service its 7.5 to 10 cardinal monthly unsocial visitors.

“Dribbble was thing that really accelerated our business dramatically backmost successful nan day,” Kuznetsov told TechCrunch. Before Dribbble, location was nary level wherever designers could stock their activity wth others, he says. It helped designers person feedback that came specifically from their peers and allowed newer designers to study from those astatine nan apical of nan industry.

Kuznetsov is now portion of nan second group.

At Milkinside, Kuznetsov has worked pinch companies for illustration Apple, Google, Amazon, Scandinavian Airlines, United Airlines, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, and different ample companies successful nan Bay Area.

As a result, he apt didn’t consciousness that Dribbble would consequence banning him for not abiding by nan caller terms.

Anastasakis fundamentally confirmed this to beryllium true.

He told TechCrunch that Kuznetsov received 83 activity inquiries since nan caller position rolled retired successful March, and responded to 61. In each message, nan tract shows a informing that reminds users that interaction specifications should not beryllium shared earlier task payment. However, Kuznetsov shared his interaction accusation successful six messages, which would person displayed a stronger informing astatine that time.

Image Credits:Dribbble

Image Credits:Dribbble

The institution past followed up pinch a informing email connected July 22 astir his repeated terms-of-service violations, which informed him he was risking imperishable suspension.

Kuznetsov told america he didn’t spot this email initially, but Dribbble says it tracked that nan email was opened 3 times earlier his suspension.

“I judge that Dribbble — it was their extremity to wounded maine truthful I tin dispersed that [news] truthful they tin springiness a harsh instruction to everyone who tries [to break nan rules],” Kuznetsov says.

Dribbble’s CEO Anastasakis confirmed arsenic overmuch to TechCrunch.

“There’s there’s really nary conceivable measurement successful which he did not recognize that what he was doing risked imperishable suspension of his accounts,” Anastasakis told us.

“I deliberation that yet it was that he believed that we wouldn’t return action against a designer of his caliber,” he continued. “As a broadside note, I really deliberation that he’s done america a large favour arsenic acold arsenic getting nan connection retired astir really earnestly we return nan terms.”

For Kuznetsov, aliases immoderate designer who was banned for akin reasons, nan only action to travel backmost to Dribbble is by joining arsenic an advertiser, which requires a minimum run fund of $1,500 per period for astatine slightest 3 months.

A caller competitor to Dribbble emerges?

Kuznetsov has decided to forge his ain path, saying that he’s wounded by Dribbble’s change.

“It’s not going to beryllium a copycat of Dribbble,” he says of his pending startup. Instead, it will beryllium a assets for designers that will besides leverage AI.

While location has been a batch of backlash astir AI models training connected creatives’ activity without compensation, Kuznetsov believes there’s a usage lawsuit for nan exertion successful position of inspiration, creation, and design.

Image Credits:Gleb Kuznetsov

“It’s a large spread correct now successful nan market…Everybody’s doing AI startups, but nobody’s really doing AI startups for designers,” Kuznetsov notes. “AI is thing that really tin elevate our expertise to create, and make it connected a overmuch higher level of quality. It’s going to thief america to not only gain much money and grow, but besides create thing we ne'er moreover thought was imaginable to create without a circumstantial accomplishment set.”

Kuznetsov says he expects to person an MVP (minimum viable product) fresh successful 3 aliases 4 months.

However, he notes nan extremity is not to “kill” Dribbble, moreover though investors offered him money to do so.

“It’s not for illustration that. I’m trying to do thing bully for nan organization because I’m a designer. So I cognize really achy it is to beryllium a designer successful this world,” says Kuznetsov.

“We request to beryllium really smart astir really we put our clip — really we springiness our champion and springiness our life to different platforms. Diversification of that finance should beryllium thing that everyone should beryllium reasoning about,” he adds.